For it is a natural human instinct to stereotype. For centuries, we have been stereotyping different races such as the blacks. The whites used to see them as evil doers, but now we realize that it is not true. In the book, Tom Robinson was killed because he was stereotyped. If he had an impartial jury, he would have been a free man.
When the Hater Meets the Hated- Why is Tom Robinson Guilty? One may be punished for something he or she never did depending on the circumstances in their community. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows in Maycomb County, a society being controlled by racism, Tom Robinson is punished for assaulting Mayella Ewell even though he is the victim. If the majority of the inhabitants of a community are racist, the racist social values influence everything that takes place in the courts of the community. Thus the racist social values of Maycomb County are responsible for the failure of Atticus Finch’s defense for Tom Robinson.
He explained that white men always win and cheat, so the white men are the victors but the white man is always a bad man. This shows that it can be prejudice because Tom`s story was not heard and he was accused of being guilty and so he was killed. In cases of Tom being wrongly accused, harassment by others, on Scout and Atticus defending the jail can have an opinion of people that is destructive. When the group of men came to kill Tom, it shows that if Scout and Jem did not have a father would be the same thing for Walter Cunningham.
From the racial prejudice used against Tom Robinson, to the economical prejudice against the Cunningham family, To Kill a Mockingbird has shown how people in Maycomb look at people. This book truly shows how the people in Maycomb Alabama are prejudice towards each other. It is very devastating that people would ever treat people like this and be prejudice like they are in this
This creatively written novel by Harper Lee shows the children’s reaction to the Radley Place which effectively foreshadows the depth of prejudice and intolerance present in the wider community of Maycomb. Scout and Jem are both bred and born in Maycomb, living off a diet of gossip. The prejudice and intolerance in the community is shown from the very beginning of the novel, when Scout tells us about the mysterious myths and town gossip surrounding Boo Radley. For example, Boo never seen outside for years, getting into trouble with the law and stabbing his father with a pair of scissors in the thigh. “..people still looked at the Radley Place, unwilling to discard their initial suspicions.” (Page 9) This shows how small and connected the
The article I chose to discuss an author’s subjectivity is about the Trayvon Martin case. Trayvon Martin was a young Black man who was shot to death by George Zimmerman. The article states the verdict in the case, which was that Mr. George Zimmerman was acquitted of murder. In the article, I can sense the anger and hostility of the writer. He also displays a sense of frustration when he writes that “the verdict, which should have been shocking, was delivered with the inevitability that Black Americans know too well when criminal law announces that they are worth less than other Americans” (Yankah, 2013, p.A23).
As the reader begins to see the unfairness of the actions against black people, mostly because of Atticus’ speech, the theme of discrimination is developed through the motive of ‘walking around in their shoes.’ The title, To Kill A Mockingbird is very symbolic and meaningful. The quote which corresponds with the title is also said by Atticus and is, ‘Shoot all the blue jays you want if you can’t hit ‘em, but it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.’ There are two characters in the text which are metaphorical to the mockingbird. One is the obvious one, Tom Robinson, a black man accused of the rape of a white girl, whom Atticus defends, and the other is Boo Radley. Just like a mockingbird, Tom Robinson only did good and in the end was accused of a crime he didn’t commit. He helped Mayella Ewell every time she asked, for free, and for it he was accused of raping her.
He is almost completely shunned from the town because he is trying to help a black man accused of rape. Mayella had told Tom, “I said come here, nigger, and bust up this chiffarobe for me, I gotta nickel for you.” (p.241) She had tricked him to coming over to her. Then that’s about the time when she accuses him of rape. He had felt sorry for her, which is why he was falsely accused in the first place. Courthouse segregation was one of the biggest bits of racism I found in this book.
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”. This quote reveals that Atticus is mainly focusing on the racial aspect of prejudice as it is the most dominant form of prejudice in TKAM. As well as showing that he understands the ethic of empathy and understanding, that he preaches to Scout and Jem. Atticus also proves how the people of Maycomb do not understand Negros as they have not experienced the abuse that comes with the colour of your skin. In the novel there is also the aspect of classism in prejudice with the hierarchy of families being instilled into the society of Maycomb.
In the beginning she's just this innocent kid, but by the end she sees the town in another light. A clearly innocent man is convicted because of his race. This causes her to go from seeing her town as this nice, lovely place where bad things don't happen, to this place where racism exists and people are killed because of it. It's a dark time in the book and during that time people are shown for who they really are. The "dark" causes Scout to "see" the way things truly are.